Guard and grinding-wheel moistener for dental handpieces.



N. MORGAN. GUARD AND GRINDING WHEEL MOISTENER FOR DENTAL HANDPIEGES.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 28, 1912.

4 ,4 m W 0 W 6 m N 7 N 14m /A d 9 e h a owb/ f WITNESSES.-

COLUMBIA PLANOGIAPH CO" WASHINGTON. D. C.

ion. A

NEWTON MORGAN, 0F SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

GUARD AND GRINDING-WHEEL MOISTENER FOR DENTAL HANDPIECES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 3Q, inlet.

Application filed March 28, 1912. Serial No. 688,804.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it knownthat I NEWTON MORGAN, a citizen of the United Statesof America, and resident of Springfield, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Guards and Grinding-Wheel Moisteners for Dental Handpieces, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to a device to be employed as an attachment for temporary use with a dental hand piece and to serve both as a guard for holding internal parts of the mouth or cheeks and the tongue away from harm which might be produced by the rapidly rotating wheel or disk, and to also serve as a receptacle for a moistening ad or absorbent material,such as sponge, felt, rubber sponge or cotton,which is to be saturated with water for preventing the grinding wheel from becoming too heated and to keep it in a moist and cleancondition, thereby enhancing its abrasive power.

Additional advantages beyond those above indicated are incidental to'the nature and construction of the device, as will hereinafter appear.

The invention is described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and is set forth in the claims.

In the drawings:-Figure 1 is a plan view showing a dental hand piece with my improved device attached thereto. Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation as seen at right angles to Fig. 1, that is on the line 22. Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken at the operative end of the apparatus on the plane indicated by line 33, Fig. 1. Fig. 4: is a perspective view showing, in detail a part included in the device to be hereinafter referred to.

In the drawings, A represents the body portion of a dental hand piece, B representing the arbor for a grinding wheel, G, connected. for rotation in the chuck with which the hand piece is provided as usual. The hand piece is shown as made with a boss or stud a of slight height projecting from an intermediate portion thereof.

D represents a sleeve, forming the supporting member of the device in which the present invention is comprised, said sleeve being of suitable size to closely telescopically engage the body of the hand piece; and it is made with a longitudinal slot 5 which opens to one endthereof; and intelescoping onto the hand piece with a greater or less degree of frictional bind, the margins of the slot 6 engage the boss (1 and prevent rotative movement of the sleeve relatively to the hand piece. The sleeve at its forward extremity is provided with a pair of slightly separated transversely extended perforated car lugs (Z, d and G represents an arm formed of thin flat metal having its rear extremity positioned between said ear lugs;

and a screw f is passed loosely through one of the ear lugs (Z, through a perforation therefor in the arm G and with a screw thread engagement through the ear lug (F -the head of the screw bearing on the ear lug (Z, and serving, when the screw is tightened up, to constrict the ear lugs in relation to each other so as to pinch the arm G tightly between them. The arm G carries at its forward end a member J which is both a guard and a receptacle for a pad or absorbent container for water. The said part J is made in the form of a trough, the base or back or" which is made on an arc curve; and this guard and receptacle with its side walls presents the aspect of a crescent shaped trough.

The receptacle has an elongated aperture (Z through the central portion of its base; and f represents a plate curved in its length to more or less nearly conform to the curvature of the base of the trough shaped part;

and t represents a button swiveled to the retaining plate having the neck thereof eX- tended through the elongated aperture d and provided with a head for engaging eX- teriorly with the base of the receptacle mar ginally of the aperture.

The ends of the retaining plate j are pointed and may be caused to protrude into the back portion of the pad or mass of ab sorbent material to be employed in the guard receptacle previous to the placing of such material within the trough, and when the pad and the retaining plate in engagement therewith are placed in the re ceptacle, the button is turned so that its head stands across the aperture and the absorbent material is securely and reliably laeld, all as manifest on reference to the drawings,--it being also apparent that the retaining plate may be readily displaced for the removal of an old or used pad and to permit the replacement of a fresh one.

The joining of the arm G on the sleeve like supporting member I) as described permits of adji'lstment of the trough shaped guard receptacle more orless transversely relatively to the axis of the hand piece and the tool carrying arbor so that the attachmeat may be employed with equal facility in conjunction with grinding wheels or disks of different sizes; and at times when a wheel carrying arbor or a disk carryingmandrel is to be inserted in or removed from the chuck of a hand piece, the trough carrying arm may be swung in a direction away from the axis of the hand piece so as to constitute no impediment to the required a eti ons.

The outer surface or back of the trough shaped for vard part J of the attachment serves as a guard or protector for holding away from harm internal parts of the mouth or cheeks and the tongue while the hand piece is being used with a suitable tool therein on the teeth of a patient; and the device while subserving this purpose and also keeping the grinding wheel in a moist and clean condition and preventing it from becoming heated and reducing the pain to the patient, does not obstruct the sight by the dentist of the work being, or to be, performed.

Should the felt or absorbent material be come charged with blood or with saliva, the guard should be turned backward to enable the operator to manipulate or knead the felt, so as to express the blood or saliva. The felt holding or retaining plate f is normally covered by the felt, so that the operation of kneading will not be hampered thereby.

Different sized grinding wheels are employed in the grinding of teeth, and the change from one wheel to another must frequently be made during the operation of grinding a single tooth. By the construc tion of the guard carrying arm G and its tension support, consisting of the confronting lugs (Z and (Z and the clamping screw 9 for clamping the rear end of the arm Gr between the lugs, the guard J may be held in any desired position on the sleeve D, so as to be adjusted to contact with the peripheral grinding face of any sized grinding wheel. The guard J is considerably wider than the grinding wheel, so that the side walls of the guard will not contact with the side faces of the grinding wheel and conduct heat to the flesh of the patient. This spacing arrangement also serves to space the wheel from the flesh of the patient. The attachment also has an added value in that while omitting the absorbent pad or 1noistener it may be employed while sand paper disks are being used for polishing teeth'or fillings, holding away the mouth tissues or rubber dam. The attachment and all parts thereof may be readily sterilized and kept in perfectly clean and good sanitary condition.

I claim 1. [in attachn'ient for a dental hand piece consisting of a supporting member adapted to embrace and detachably engage with the hand piece, an arm. adapted to swing ra dially of the axis of the hand piece and carrying at its forward extremity a lengthwise curved and transversely trough shaped part, and means pivotally connecting the arm to the supporting member for loosening and tightening said arm relatively to the member.

2. An attachment for a dental hand piece consisting of a sleeve like member, for detachable engagement with the piece, provided with a pair of slightly separated and transversely extending perforated ear lugs, an arm having its rear extremity positioned between said ear lugs, and a screw engaging through the ear lugs and arm and operative to pivotally connect and also at pleasure to bind the parts against relatively swinging movements,said arm having at its forward extremity a trough shaped portion curved in its length.

3. In an attachment for a dental hand piece, a supporting arm carrying at its forward end a transversely trough shaped and endwise curved receptacle for absorbent material, said receptacle having an elongated aperture through the central portion of its base, a retaining plate within the receptacle and a button swiveled to the retaining plate extended through said elongated aperture and provided with a head for engaging with the base of the receptacle marginally of the said. aperture.

l. lin combination, a sleeve adapted to embrace the body portion of a dental hand piece, confronting lugs on the sleeve, an arm located between the lugs and provided at its forward end with a transverse trough shaped wheel guard, a screw extending through one of the lugs and the rear end. of the arm and threaded on the other lug, whereby the arm may be clamped bet-ween the lugs, said wheel guard having side walls spaced apart to be out of contact with the sides of the grinding wheel of the hand piece, and means for retaining an absorbent element within the wheel guard which is normally concealed by said absorbent element, whereby the absorbent element may be kneaded when the arm is swung rearwardly.

5. In combination, a member adapted to be supported on a dental hand piece, a projection on said member, an arm, a Wheel guard on said arm, and a pivot having elements associated therewith for drawing said arm into frictional engagement With said projection and connecting said arm to said projection to permit the adjustment of said guard to Various sized grinding Wheels.

NEWTON MORGAN.

Witnesses:

WM. S. BELLOWS, G. R. DRISCOLL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents eachaby addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

